Hydrogen: The Japanese Bet






South of Tokyo, at the base of Mount Fuji, Toyota is developing the project called Woven City, a Hydrogen City. It is a prototype of a smart city whose source of energy would be hydrogen and which began its construction this year in February. But, beyond how Woven City works, there are many things to highlight about this project.

The first aspect is that the bet that government and companies in Japan are making on hydrogen is evident. If we analyze the country’s energy profile and its history, this makes much more sense than it seems at first glance. According to the United States Energy Information Administration, Japan’s energy consumption is composed of 87% fossil fuels among oil, natural gas and coal, with an additional 3% of nuclear energy. The remaining 10% are renewable energies, which include hydroelectric plants.

Japan’s great dependence on fossil fuels is accompanied by its lack of these natural resources, of which it has historically been a net importer. In 2019 alone, the country was the fourth largest importer of crude oil in the world, the largest importer of liquefied natural gas and the third importer of coal only behind China and India.

Japan’s bet is a true act of energy security and not in terms of dependence on the supply chain, but it is also a way to improve the country’s trade balance, which is affected by the strong costs of energy products and their volatility.

Another fundamental element is that it is the way in which Japan would promote the energy transition. Given its strong dependence on fossil fuels, the country has had difficulties reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. Solar and wind development has been limited for this reason; however, an aggressive plan to develop the energy transition using hydrogen could be much more feasible.

After the incident with the Nuclear Plant in Fukushima, Japan decided not to build new nuclear plants and to gradually close the existing ones. The same has happened recently when it announced that they would no longer build more coal plants. This implies that there could be greater investment in combined-cycle plants that use liquefied natural gas, which would be fundamental, in this first stage, for the development of gray or blue hydrogen, alongside green hydrogen.

A third aspect is that the bet addresses the issue of mobility. The greatest use of oil in the country is used for mobility, whether of private and collective automobiles, as well as for the transport of merchandise between cities. Although the train system is electrified and quite efficient, wheel transport continues to be important in the country.

Unlike other automakers, Japanese automakers, such as Toyota, Honda and Nissan, are betting on the standard of hydrogen vehicles more than on vehicles that use electricity from the grid. This implies that at least two other models are promoted besides the plug-in electric one: the fuel-cell model and the internal-combustion model with hydrogen. In such a way that we could say that the standard of the future of automobiles has not yet been decided.

Space is running out, but next week we will address more on this topic, expanding on Woven City, the smart city pilot that would use hydrogen as a source of energy.

This article was originally published by Business Insider México.
Date: June 10, 2021
Original Link: https://businessinsider.mx/hidrogeno-la-apuesta-japonesa-opinion-paul-sanchez-energia-circular/ [offline]
Archived Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20240528033643/https://businessinsider.mx/hidrogeno-la-apuesta-japonesa-opinion-paul-sanchez-energia-circular/ [Archived]

Climate Crisis, a Titanic Task






Atlas, in Greek mythology, was a titan who was condemned by Zeus to carry the sky. Many of us will remember him because of the image where he appears carrying the world on his shoulders, in his hands, on his shoulders or on his back. For good measure, those who have played lottery —the board game— will be able to see that the card of “The World” presents a modern Atlas holding the planet.

It is almost poetic to think of Atlas and the climate crisis. On the one hand, because preventing the deterioration of our environment has turned out to be a titanic task, a word that derives precisely from feats like that of Atlas. On the other hand, because taking care of the world is in our hands, our shoulders and our backs; ours and those of our descendants.

The task has been titanic and the road relatively long. Next year will mark 50 years since one of the first milestones in the international agenda regarding climate, the Stockholm Conference. Also, 25 years will be commemorated since another of the great milestones in the international agenda against climate change, the Kyoto Protocol.

The United Nations Organization has made the recount of the background that marks the establishment of global warming and climate change as a public problem in the international agenda starting from the Stockholm Conference in 1972. Therefore we could say that, in 1972, at least for some chroniclers, half a century of international efforts against climate change is marked.

A first positive result was the international commitment to eliminate chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) through the Montreal Protocol signed in 1987, a struggle that owes much to the laureate Mexican Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Mario Molina, may he rest in peace.

What are CFCs?

CFCs were gases that affected the ozone layer and were used in the refrigeration industry, aerosols and thermal insulators. It is considered a success because the speed at which they were replaced, both in industry and in consumption habits, was such that it was thought that with technological innovation and better consumption habits, major climate problems could be reduced.

In that scientific-climate euphoria, the following objective was set: to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that caused global warming. The struggle was framed in the Kyoto Protocol as the first international commitment of a global nature whose purpose was the reduction of at least 5% of greenhouse gas emissions taking 1990 as a baseline; this goal had to be achieved between 2008 and 2012.

The fight against greenhouse gas emissions proved to be titanic and the Kyoto Protocol did not produce the desired results. Some design problems that have been cited are:

  1. The greater difficulty of finding substitutes for fossil energy sources both for mobility and for electric energy generation.
  2. The speed of development of non-obligated countries such as China and India.
  3. The economic cost and loss of competitiveness of the obligated countries.

The years have shown us two things. The first is the size of the problem; the second, the importance of taking more forceful actions that involve all actors.

Of course, this implies a radical change in our consumption habits, a greater commitment to the energy transition and greater technological innovation. Perhaps, 25 years later, we are barely beginning to understand the titanic nature of the climate crisis.

This article was originally published by Business Insider México.
Date: June 1, 2021
Original Link: https://businessinsider.mx/crisis-climatica-opinion-paul-alejandro-sanchez-energia-circular/ [offline]
Archived Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20240228071615/https://businessinsider.mx/crisis-climatica-opinion-paul-alejandro-sanchez-energia-circular/ [Archived]

Planned Obsolescence






I was visiting my grandmother’s house a couple of weeks ago and I found one of the energy-saving lamps that she bought more than 20 years ago. I remember that she went to the CFE offices —I do not remember if a program of the Trust for Electric Energy Savings (FIDE) already existed, perhaps yes, but the fact is that she came out with four energy-saving lamps.

This is saying a lot. At that time my grandmother’s house worked with eight light bulbs, better known as incandescent bulbs. Two of the lamps were formed by cylindrical tubes in the shape of a wheel joined in the center with a thread to fit into the sockets; two others were like the LED bulbs that we know today, but enormous. Two or three times the size of an incandescent bulb.

This bulb is more than 20 years old. It was one of the first from CFE’s replacement program, they charged it to the bimonthly bill for one year. It is in my Grandmother’s house and she uses it daily. pic.twitter.com/8L2VoOdng0

— Paul Alejandro (@PaulAlejandros) May 16, 2021

At the risk of being imprecise, the two circular lamps lasted a little more than five years and one of the enormous round lamps was taken by some relative and I do not know what happened, I only know that the only one of the four that survived was that one, which illuminates the equivalent of 60 Watts of an incandescent bulb.

The cost was important considering the economy of 20 years ago. She got the bulbs on credit and CFE would discount a part from her bimonthly bill for one year. Well then, my surprise is that my grandmother has that lamp, still active, in her house. What a great return on investment! My grandmother says that she did observe savings quickly and since then made the effort to switch to energy-saving lamps until not a single bulb remained.

Now, all of us have had a bulb or an energy-saving or LED lamp burn out in our homes. This is more frequent than an accident such as, let us say, breaking a bulb while playing baseball in the living room of our home. But why are incandescent lamps no longer so resistant?

This is due to planned obsolescence. One of the criticisms of the capitalist system is that, once a market is satisfied, the industry would slow down and this would cause a lower rate of growth. Capitalism requires not only one-time consumption but perpetual consumption that allows the movement of the productive machinery.

It is no surprise that the first Ford and GM automobiles were very durable and repairable; the idea was that all American families would have a car. But once the market became saturated, it was necessary to promote the idea that the car had to be replaced. The same can be said of stoves, refrigerators, televisions; sewing machines, among others. This is the idea of planned obsolescence.

Thomas Alva Edison considered the manufacture of perpetual incandescent bulbs or at least with a very long life expectancy. For example, in California is the Centennial Bulb, which is maintained by the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department and was originally installed in 1901.

Although the years have taken their toll and that 30-Watt bulb now only emits about 4 Watts, perhaps partly because of the glass, perhaps partly because of the filaments and perhaps partly because of the installation, the feat is so commendable that it is in the Guinness Book of World Records. And most importantly, it is not the only one; there are at least a dozen bulbs that are around 100 years old.

Perhaps, then, we could think of some future in lighting systems that are not only more efficient but also more durable; however, as long as it is important for the industry to keep the productive and consumer machinery oiled, it is likely that in my house I will never have an energy-saving lamp or an LED that lasts more than 20 years.

This article was originally published by Business Insider México.
Date: May 26, 2021
Original Link: https://businessinsider.mx/obsolescencia-programada-opinion-energia-circular-paul-alejandro-sanchez/ [offline]
Archived Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20221204121638/https://businessinsider.mx/obsolescencia-programada-opinion-energia-circular-paul-alejandro-sanchez/ [Archived]